A day after approving subpoenas for seven former aides to Gov. Pat Quinn in a probe of a troubled $55 million anti-violence program, Democrats today opted to drop two from the list.

Rep. Frank Mautino, the Democratic co-chair of the panel looking Quinn’s Neighborhood Recovery, said he chose not to sign off on subpoenas seeking testimony of Warren Ribley, the former head of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and Andrew Ross, Quinn’s former chief operating officer. Mautino said their involvement in the program is outside the scope of a blistering audit lawmakers are examining, one that found the anti-violence program was hastily implemented and had inadequate oversight.

Ribley and Ross were involved with a portion of the anti-violence program that distributed loans to small businesses. The audit primarily focused on grants given to neighborhood groups.

Mautino did approve subpoenas for Barbara Shaw, the former head of the NRI program, as well as Jack Lavin, Quinn’s former chief of staff; Toni Irving, former deputy chief of staff; Malcolm Weems, former head of the Department of Central Management Services; and Billy Ocasio, a former senior advisor.

Republicans have argued the anti-violence program was a political slush fund intended to drive voter turnout in heavily Democratic areas of the city as Quinn faced a tough 2010 election battle. Quinn dismisses that argument, saying the program had good intentions.

Mautino’s Republican co-chair, Sen. Jason Barickman of Bloomington, initially sought a subpoena for only Shaw, saying he wanted to hear her testimony before issuing paperwork requiring others to testify.

But Democrats seeking to prevent a summer-long embarrassment for Quinn pushed to expand the scope of the subpoenas, arguing lawmakers should hear from those involved at once instead of over the course of several months.

Barickman today criticized Democrats for blocking two of the subpoenas.

"It's unfortunate that Democrats would obstruct our efforts to find out what happened," Barickman said. "We worked diligently with the Democrats yesterday to find cooperation and it's unfortunate that not even 24 hours later some are changing their tune."